By Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Former President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that he has nearly $500 million in cash, following assertions from his legal team that he lacks sufficient funds to comply with the $464 million fine imposed on him and his co-defendants in a civil fraud case.
“Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a substantial amount of which I intended to use in my campaign for president,” Trump wrote in a post in Truth Social on Friday.
"The often overturned political hack judge on the rigged and corrupt A.G. case, where I have done nothing wrong, knew this, wanted to take it away from me, and that’s where and why he came up with the shocking number which, coupled with his crazy interest demand, is approximately $454,000,000," he added.
Trump's comment came after New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken the initial step toward seizing Trump's properties in the state following a landmark $454 million judgment.
James' office registered the judgment with the county clerk's office in Westchester County on March 6, according to multiple reports. Trump has two properties there, including his Seven Springs estate and Trump National Golf Club, Westchester.
Trump's attorneys said earlier this week that the former US president is having difficulty securing a bond while appeals play out and he contacted 30 insurance companies to underwrite his nearly half-billion dollar bond but has been rejected at each turn.
"A bond requirement of this enormous magnitude—effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion," attorneys wrote in the sprawling filling, "is unprecedented for a private company."
Trump must pay $454 million in fines and interest following a judgment from Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron in February.
If he cannot secure the bond he will have to pay in cash from his coffers or risk his properties being seized and sold by state authorities.
He bemoaned Engoron, saying the judge "wants me to bond it, which is not possible for bonding companies to do in such a high amount, before I can even Appeal."
Trump's legal team asked the New York Supreme Court on Monday to intervene to prevent James from collecting the judgment as early as next week, saying that doing so would cause Trump and his business empire "irreparable injury."
"Obtaining such cash through a 'fire sale' of real estate holdings would inevitably result in massive, irrecoverable losses—textbook irreparable injury," they said.
Trump has three days before the deadline on Monday to secure the bond or come up with the money.